Finally! That is a huge vacant lot that will filled, with this project and West Love down the street combined with all the current and incoming apartments, the Medical District can finally start to develop and identity of its own.

tanzoak wrote:Looks fine along Hudnall, but the surface parking between it and DART is less than appealing. Whole project feels a little underutilized and not exactly "transit-oriented" development.

I think most developers use the term "transit-oriented" only to mean that their project is walking distance or right across the street from train. Realistically speaking that's all they can really do besides a direct connection to the station, which would probably be unappealing for those living there. The surface lot on the other hand definitely could be decreased, but considering that it looks to have the first level full of retail its somewhat understandable.

Yes! I am excited that they are finally going to demolish that ugly ass shopping strip. That place was one of the worst eye sores along my DART commutes. But why are they keeping the parking lot? That just seems counterproductive.

Thymant wrote:I think most developers use the term "transit-oriented" only to mean that their project is walking distance or right across the street from train. Realistically speaking that's all they can really do besides a direct connection to the station, which would probably be unappealing for those living there. The surface lot on the other hand definitely could be decreased, but considering that it looks to have the first level full of retail its somewhat understandable.

Yeah, that's all they mean here. Ideally, TOD also involves reduced parking (because ya know, people are walking or transiting more), but this is Dallas, so I don't really hold my breath. My skepticism was mostly about how unappealing it would be to actually walk from the project to DART with the current design . Everything about it screams "just drive dummy, your car is right in front of you, you're walking through a bunch of cars."

Also, are they really getting 100 du/acre with such relatively low coverage and short buildings?

Great to see those lots finally redeveloped after all these years. The area around Inwood and Parkland Stations, from just West of Inwood to Just east of Parkland station has undergone significant transformation. The proximity of the two stations I think has created a synergy (along with with Medical District being right there obviously), because you can build a TOD within a large area and still be within, at most, a 10 minute walk. I can count just from memory 9 significant apartment/retail developments in the area in just the past 6 years. Probably still more to come.

Probably the hottest two stations in the entire DART system right now.

Alex Rodriguez wrote:The proximity of the two stations I think has created a synergy (along with with Medical District being right there obviously), because you can build a TOD within a large area and still be within, at most, a 10 minute walk.

I don't know anything about this area, but it at least has the stop spacing of a legitimate public transit system. Also, it's not along a highway, meaning that at least in theory you can not only actually build around the stations, but also walk to/from them reasonably. Imagine that.

tanzoak wrote:I don't know anything about this area, but it at least has the stop spacing of a legitimate public transit system. Also, it's not along a highway, meaning that at least in theory you can not only actually build around the stations, but also walk to/from them reasonably. Imagine that.

Although see were your coming from I do have to comment that spacing of the DART rail stops has nothing to do with it being a "legitimate public transit system". I lived in Chicago for 6 years and frequently rode the "L" train a which is very legitimate transit system and in denser areas the stops are closer and as the density decreases the stops get further apart. Also 3 of the lines (red, orange, and blue) do in fact run long routes along the center of the highway and they are very useful for those who live near them. There is nothing wrong with the layout of the DART rail, more so the issue is that developers are not taking full advantage of plots that are convenient to the rail line. For instance they build new tollways and highways through the middle of nowhere i.e Chisholm Trail Parkway,and usually there are not too many complaints because once the route is established development is likely to follow for its convenience even though that is a complete waste of land and contributes to sprawl.

Thymant wrote:Although see were your coming from I do have to comment that spacing of the DART rail stops has nothing to do with it being a "legitimate public transit system". I lived in Chicago for 6 years and frequently rode the "L" train a which is very legitimate transit system and in denser areas the stops are closer and as the density decreases the stops get further apart. Also 3 of the lines (red, orange, and blue) do in fact run long routes along the center of the highway and they are very useful for those who live near them.

I should have been less snarky. You can certainly have good public transit with wider stop spacing that runs along the highway. That's fine for commuter rail.

What I meant by "legitimate" system is a true urban rail system: where you might hop off at one station, do whatever you're doing, and then hop on at another station that's now closer vs stations serving isolated pockets like suburban downtowns, where you're pretty much guaranteed to get off and on at the same stop and it's only really particularly useful for commuting.

It's a meaningful distinction because a true urban system eliminates "edges." If location near a stop is important to urban development (which I don't actually think is true in Dallas), then the outer edge of what constitutes "near" will be much less appealing to build or live because on the other side of it there won't be supportive urban uses. On the other hand, if stations are close enough that those edges meet, then that significantly boosts that "edge" area because now there's supportive development on both sides as if it were not on an edge.

As for highway-running.. It increases walking distances just due to having to walk across access roads and half a highway and reduces the quality of that walk. It also reduces the number of accessible locations by a) typically the highway barrier funnels development in only one direction and b) does a restaurant want an outdoor patio off an access road next to a highway? Again, fine for commuter rail, where the primary use is to drive to the station to take into downtown, but not condusive to urban development.

DART actually has some decent development potential exactly because it's offset from the highways a bit, but they shoot themselves in the foot by surrounding their stations in a sea of parking, and the street grid near the stations is typically awful awful afwul.

tanzoak wrote:DART actually has some decent development potential exactly because it's offset from the highways a bit, but they shoot themselves in the foot by surrounding their stations in a sea of parking, and the street grid near the stations is typically awful awful afwul.

Isn't the plan to eventually re-develop the surface parking lots? I just assumed the parking lots were only temporary, and eventually they would all be developed into something more urban when the timing was right.

For most stations, that is still a long ways away, but I don't mind the surface parking as long as they aren't permanent.

Does anyone know what the next phase is for the Aloft hotel project? Seems like it could work as as mixed-use 'Shops at Preston Hollow' type deal.

It's nice to see development creeping ever closer to Lovefield along Harry Hines and the DART lines. It would be cool if we could see some new midrise office developments as well. Anything that doesn't go to Plano or Frisco makes me happy

One of the largest medical centers in Dallas is for sale...the old Parkland Hospital campus on Harry Hines Boulevard ... more than 38-acre medical campus is up for grabs ... CBRE is marketing the property in five blocks stretching from Market Center Boulevard to the UTSW campus at the north. The purchase includes more than a dozen buildings, parking garages, and raw land ... More than 30,000 people work in the surrounding medical district which treats more than 3 million patients a year.

...The campus is zoned as Mixed-Use District 3, which allows for high density classification outside the city's urban core. It is also served by TRE and DART rail stations within walking distance to the property.

tamtagon wrote:Whenever this sells, it's likely to be the biggest deal of that year

...that is, the sell price will be big, but the resulting new development and renovation will likely make the campus the biggest deal of the year.

The amount of TNT to take down those buildings will be staggering. The fact that it would take place while surrounded by fully functioning medical facilities and transit lines will make it one of the most complex demolition efforts ever. It would certainly be a sight to behold...I suppose they may just go with a wrecking ball, but what fun is that?

Maybe UTSW or UNT or TWU will find a way to use the old fortress hospital; it may not meet the needs of contemporary hospitals, but classrooms? dormitory? physical rehab? doctor office?

Dallas really needs an Osteopathic University/Teaching hospital, and with the expansion of UNT Medicine in Fort Worth more geared to "regular" medicine, perhaps this would be a good way to bring balance to the Medical District product.

ArtVandelay wrote:Wow - they spent all that money on the sky bridge only to sell the entire campus across the street? What a folly

They are still keeping the outpatient facilities that the skybridge connects to. They may be selling the building its located in but they undoubtedly didn't build a large enough facility at the new building so they can't abandon the old campus entirely.

I personally hope they demolish what they can but I expect it will get sold to someone who will only demo a small amount and try to lease space to all kinds of medical operations like doctors, private research labs etc. If we are lucky they will knock down something to throw some apartments in there or a hotel but even that is probably unlikely.

Although it be cool and ambitious for the hospital to be converted to residential, I feel that the best use would definitely be office or a hospital expansion. And BTW I've heard Children's name thrown out the too as a possible buyer although I'm not positive how much truth there is to that.

The orientation and layout of the existing campus is very inefficient. I would expect a good portion of what is vacant to be leveled in any redevelopment. Any sort of mixed use project should almost certainly include some sort of hotel and/or extended stay product. There are tons of workers (both physicians and nurses) here who actually live out of town and come in for five or seven days at a time. Having a place to stay with such proximity to so many medical facilities would be a huge benefit, not to mention folks who are in town for extended periods for treatment and have visitors.I could see a mixed-use setup with a hotel and private practice facilities, oriented around a 'town-square' type setup with resturants and shops. Pawn off a few structures to UTSW, Zales, Children's, and Parkland... and you've got quite a center of activity there, all sandwiched between two critical transit stops.

The Green Heart is an elevated park proposal covering the Harry Hines/Inwood intersection and branching out to form greem corridors in the district. It's part of the larger plan to improve pedestrian/bicycle connections and expand the tree canopy.

The larger plan itself is quite ambitious, transforming almost every street in the district. A priority is turning Harry Hines into the green spine: phase one transforms it with landscaping; phase two moves vehicular traffic underground.

That's an amazing plan! It would be great to see it come to fruition. I've thought and considered how Dallas can become a more appealing city in the eyes of visitors, tourist and its residents. Certainly we can't conjure hills and lakes and shore-front to happen ever, but I've wondered why there hasn't been an initiative to plant and add trees to the Dallas cityscape. It's really all we can do from a environmental perspective. I think Dallas is building great architecture and other projects, but that's not enough. Growing the tree canopy and not f****** up the Trinity River plan is all we have. I'm not going to hijack the thread any further, but this is REALLY exciting and I'm going to look up Texas Trees Foundation and see what other amazing things they are involved in.

I agree that this is outstanding, but does anyone know how this group picked this location for such a project? This is an industrial neighborhood. There is no hoarde of residents clamoring for park land.

So it's hard to see how the foundation could raise the money to do this. Yet they have proposed it. Can anyone explain the contradiction?

Will it all be funded by the TIFs and driven by the medical institutions? And the only real beneficiaries are the hospital employees?

willyk wrote:I agree that this is outstanding, but does anyone know how this group picked this location for such a project? This is an industrial neighborhood. There is no hoarde of residents clamoring for park land.

So it's hard to see how the foundation could raise the money to do this. Yet they have proposed it. Can anyone explain the contradiction?

Will it all be funded by the TIFs and driven by the medical institutions? And the only real beneficiaries are the hospital employees?

This was exactly my thought. There's hospital garages / buildings around there. I suppose the "Development opportunity" the mention will be the residents who use this. I would love to see Something like this on Cesar Chavez and 30.

willyk wrote:I agree that this is outstanding, but does anyone know how this group picked this location for such a project? This is an industrial neighborhood. There is no hoarde of residents clamoring for park land.

So it's hard to see how the foundation could raise the money to do this. Yet they have proposed it. Can anyone explain the contradiction?

Will it all be funded by the TIFs and driven by the medical institutions? And the only real beneficiaries are the hospital employees?

The study was sponsored by the Lyda Hill Foundation and it's described as an urban streetscape master plan. The board of directors from the Southwest Medical District are also listed as participants. The full report has a lot of interesting data/visuals and lists implementation estimates, action steps, priorities, and potential partners.

In 2015 the Texas Trees Foundation, a private non-profit, launched the State of the DallasUrban Forest Report, which identified the Southwestern Medical District (SWMD), as anarea with one of the largest urban heat islands in the City of Dallas. With less than 7%tree canopy, the impacts of the SWMD’s amplified heat on human health directly affectsthe costs and challenges of the three world-class hospitals in the Southwestern MedicalDistrict.

Uniting three world-class, beautifully designed hospitals - UT Southwestern Medical Center,Parkland Health and Hospital System, and Children’s Medical Center - through a redesignof the public rights-of-way was the answer for how to mitigate the urban heat island andprovides an opportunity to create an environment that is healthy for people, systems andthe environment. This also taps the potential for economic development while creatinga “sense of place” where people feel safe, connected and renewed, whether they arepatients, employees, family, residents or business owners who live and come to theSWMD from throughout the region and world.

The Southwestern Medical District Urban Streetscape Master Plan (the Plan) is visionary,collaborative and transformative. This plan compliments and unites the hospitals through 17miles of streetscape design on the more than 1,000 acres identified as the SouthwesternMedical District.

We are grateful to the Lyda Hill Foundation for its support and vision to make this projectpossible. We are indebted to all of the people who have provided input to make thisproject visionary, functional and beautiful. And, we thank all of our partners and supporterswho share the vision of implementation of the Southwestern Medical District UrbanStreetscape Master Plan.

This is fantastic, what an excellent way to make getting around UTSW much easier, convenient and pleasant. Entirely redefines potential for the Parkland Hopsital quadrant. I wonder if UTSW has long rang plans to take over the Salvation Army corner.... didn't Parkland or someone buy and make plans for OK Paper property?

Reminds me a bit of 'I am Legend'... and I dig that. Unfortunately, every fiber of my being says this is one of those cool pie-in-the-sky proposals that'll never happen. Instead, we'll probably end up with some twigs planted and a flagstone path that leads nowhere and is overgrown in two years. But, I really... really... hope I'm wrong here.

There are too many intersections around the city that could learn from this, and I'd love to see it succeed and be replicated.

The Green Heart, on its own, certainly does seem a little strange and out of place, but when you consider the fact that the old Parkland Hospital is up for grabs, the two could potentially be redeveloped into something grand that would complement each other really well.

What's depressing is we've reached the point and accepted it that projects like this are generally regarded as pie in the sky.... heat islands are bad - especially in Texas cities, thoroughfares and intersections which are very difficult to navigate on foot are just the way it is. Renovating this intersection encourages an overweight population to walk, a pleasant prescription.... unites the regions most prolific and highest regarded research university.... increases property value so tragically under-used real estate get upgraded.... yet, it's all just too expensive. How does that happen?

increases property value so tragically under-used real estate get upgraded.... yet, it's all just too expensive. How does that happen?

Because as per slide #1 Harry Hines and Inwood each carry around 40,000 cars a day, which is a relatively busy road but not enough to require cloverleaf interchanges. The infrastructure is way overbuilt and a true proposal would be to get rid of that mess which would save money. But since it's all there it costs more to mitigate around it.

I had breakfast at Market Diner on Harry Hines this weekend and when I left I cut through the mostly low-income, hispanic neighborhood immediately to the east (area between Harry Hines and Maple. I know there were a few townhomes built in this area around the recession, but I noticed several new modern single family homes have been built recently. And there are several "for sale" signs in front of some of the old houses, that also say "zoned multi-family". This area is in for a big change.

vman wrote:I had breakfast at Market Diner on Harry Hines this weekend and when I left I cut through the mostly low-income, hispanic neighborhood immediately to the east (area between Harry Hines and Maple. I know there were a few townhomes built in this area around the recession, but I noticed several new modern single family homes have been built recently. And there are several "for sale" signs in front of some of the old houses, that also say "zoned multi-family". This area is in for a big change.

I was recently through there, as well. There are also an ever-increasing number of empty lots. My guess is developers are buying the whole neighborhood out and waiting for the right time.

Sounds harsh, but those empty lots are a sign of a renter-occupied neighborhood with little pride in its history or concern for its future. And who can blame them when the people who live there do so at the pleasure of landlords like the Medranos, who own a lot of those dilapidated homes.

I actually know someone who bought a house there just to tear it down and sit on the land indefinitely. I'm sure his investment will pay off.

The fast food industry is a major component of industrialized diet providers creating a health epidemic, so I'm against it.... but I like the nostalgic marketing feel-good situation that could from a Big Thicket phenomena surrounding Love Field, that would be, like, strong regional qsr brands from all across the country finding niche near the airport. Whataburger, In-and-Out, Steak and Shake, White Castle....

Dallas is already something of a melting pot, an easier place for stong regional brands across the country to enter new markets, but building on the national traffic coming from Love Field with Lemmon, Mockingbird, Harry Hines proliferated by snack places from all over the country.